Cargando…
How do colonial Eurasian Griffon Vultures prevent extra-pair mating?
In colonial breeding species, preventive measures to reduce the risks of extra-pair copulations (EPCs) should reflect the actual risk perceived by males (e.g., proximity of neighbors, intrusions into the nest) mainly during the fertile period. In colonial vultures, specific studies examining the pre...
Autores principales: | , , |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
PeerJ Inc.
2016
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4782733/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26966674 http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1749 |
_version_ | 1782420012021055488 |
---|---|
author | Bertran, Joan Macià, Francesc Xavier Margalida, Antoni |
author_facet | Bertran, Joan Macià, Francesc Xavier Margalida, Antoni |
author_sort | Bertran, Joan |
collection | PubMed |
description | In colonial breeding species, preventive measures to reduce the risks of extra-pair copulations (EPCs) should reflect the actual risk perceived by males (e.g., proximity of neighbors, intrusions into the nest) mainly during the fertile period. In colonial vultures, specific studies examining the preventive measures that minimize the risks of EPCs occurring within the competitive context of colonial breeding have not been conducted. Here we tested at Eurasian Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) nesting sites the intensity of paternity assurance behavior, shown as frequency and duration of within-pair copulations (WPCs), potential mate vigilance or nest attendance, and levels of aggressivity. This was measured according to the frequency of territorial intrusions and comparison of the fertile vs. the non-fertile period. Our findings suggest that the frequency of WPCs and their duration increased significantly during the presumed fertile period, regarded as the period when Griffon pairs spent significantly more time together at their nests. In addition, low levels of territorial intrusions were observed, an aggressive response of pairs towards intruders, and a relatively high presence of pairs at the nests during the fertile period. Thus, although nesting sites are subject to low exposure to EPC attempts, the increased frequency and duration of copulations during the fertile period suggests that, under pressure from the colonial breeding system, a higher rate of copulations is the most effective preventive mechanism against relative uncertainty of paternity. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-4782733 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2016 |
publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-47827332016-03-10 How do colonial Eurasian Griffon Vultures prevent extra-pair mating? Bertran, Joan Macià, Francesc Xavier Margalida, Antoni PeerJ Animal Behavior In colonial breeding species, preventive measures to reduce the risks of extra-pair copulations (EPCs) should reflect the actual risk perceived by males (e.g., proximity of neighbors, intrusions into the nest) mainly during the fertile period. In colonial vultures, specific studies examining the preventive measures that minimize the risks of EPCs occurring within the competitive context of colonial breeding have not been conducted. Here we tested at Eurasian Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) nesting sites the intensity of paternity assurance behavior, shown as frequency and duration of within-pair copulations (WPCs), potential mate vigilance or nest attendance, and levels of aggressivity. This was measured according to the frequency of territorial intrusions and comparison of the fertile vs. the non-fertile period. Our findings suggest that the frequency of WPCs and their duration increased significantly during the presumed fertile period, regarded as the period when Griffon pairs spent significantly more time together at their nests. In addition, low levels of territorial intrusions were observed, an aggressive response of pairs towards intruders, and a relatively high presence of pairs at the nests during the fertile period. Thus, although nesting sites are subject to low exposure to EPC attempts, the increased frequency and duration of copulations during the fertile period suggests that, under pressure from the colonial breeding system, a higher rate of copulations is the most effective preventive mechanism against relative uncertainty of paternity. PeerJ Inc. 2016-02-29 /pmc/articles/PMC4782733/ /pubmed/26966674 http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1749 Text en ©2016 Bertran et al. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited. |
spellingShingle | Animal Behavior Bertran, Joan Macià, Francesc Xavier Margalida, Antoni How do colonial Eurasian Griffon Vultures prevent extra-pair mating? |
title | How do colonial Eurasian Griffon Vultures prevent extra-pair mating? |
title_full | How do colonial Eurasian Griffon Vultures prevent extra-pair mating? |
title_fullStr | How do colonial Eurasian Griffon Vultures prevent extra-pair mating? |
title_full_unstemmed | How do colonial Eurasian Griffon Vultures prevent extra-pair mating? |
title_short | How do colonial Eurasian Griffon Vultures prevent extra-pair mating? |
title_sort | how do colonial eurasian griffon vultures prevent extra-pair mating? |
topic | Animal Behavior |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4782733/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26966674 http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1749 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT bertranjoan howdocolonialeurasiangriffonvulturespreventextrapairmating AT maciafrancescxavier howdocolonialeurasiangriffonvulturespreventextrapairmating AT margalidaantoni howdocolonialeurasiangriffonvulturespreventextrapairmating |